


Particles

by DeanOh



Category: Supernatural
Genre: DeanCas - Freeform, Destiel - Freeform, First Meeting, Happy Ending, M/M, Secret Santa, Secret Santa 2017, Short, Tattoo artist!Dean, Writer!Castiel, cute fic, dog phobia, fear of dogs, savior!castiel
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-03
Updated: 2018-01-03
Packaged: 2019-02-27 23:31:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,642
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13258902
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DeanOh/pseuds/DeanOh
Summary: Prompt:  Dean has had a fear of dogs since he was bit by one as a child. Cas is there to help when a neighbor's dog gets too close and Dean panics.Official Secret Santa 2017!





	Particles

**Author's Note:**

  * For [through_shadows_falling](https://archiveofourown.org/users/through_shadows_falling/gifts).



> Ahhh! I was so excited while writing this. It's actually my first ever short fic with no smut in it. I wanted to make it longer, and maybe I will! I do enjoy this AU a lot! 
> 
> Happy Holidays, through_shadows_falling! I hope I did justice to your prompt, and I sure as hell hope you had amazing Holidays <3 
> 
> (This fic also hit close to home, because I've been bitten by a dog when I was like 3, but here I am, still petting the crap out of every dog I see. I get where Dean's coming from, though!) 
> 
> Title comes from the song Particles by Nothing But Thieves.

 

  
Dean Winchester hates moving, which he announces loudly into his phone as he’s hauling a huge bag into his new apartment. “I hate moving,” he says.

A sigh comes from the other side of the phone. Dean’s brother, Sam, has always been immune to Dean’s bitching, save for a few times. “You’ve never, ever moved before. Anywhere.”

“Yeah, well,” Dean hums, holding the phone in between his shoulder and ear, rummaging through his pockets to find the key. “You’ve never moved either. You’ll see what I mean once you get your ass to Stanford.”

“I helped you pack,” Sam retorts. “You just had to get your stuff up a few floors.”

Once inside, Dean drags the bag inside, leaving it on the floor in the middle of the hallway. It’s a spacious one-bedroom apartment, with windows looking out into a tiny park. Dean looks at the trees and the playground, thinking he’s a little bit hungry, and there’s a diner right across the park. “Anyway, I’m inside.”

“Congrats.”

Dean smiles. It’s going to be hard living an hour away from his brother, but his new job requires him to be in close range to the tattoo parlor. “Can’t you sound more enthusiastic? Aren’t you proud of your big brother for moving out of the nest?”

Sam’s silence lasts a second. “It’s fine,” his voice sounds uncertain, and hell, Dean feels exactly the same. This has been a big decision; for him, Mom, Dad, and Sam. “I’ll come over next weekend.”

“Sure, buddy,” Dean says, wishing he’d be right there with his brother. “Come visit whenever you want.”

“Okay.”

Dean paces around the room, and then says, “I’m starving. Gonna go pick up a burger or something. Talk to you soon, alright?”

“Yeah, yeah. Be safe, Dean.”

“Bitch.”

“Jerk.”

Dean hangs up.

Staying in the lonely apartment feels counterproductive, and the thought of the diner lingers in Dean’s brain. He can stay inside for the rest of the week if he wants; Dean’s job doesn’t start until Monday, so Dean simply changes his shirt into a long-sleeved one to hide his massive ink, then looks at himself in the mirror of his new bathroom, and walks out the door, again.

The park is small. It’s lively, just as predicted, with kids running around with their parents. Dean’s not even three feet away from the apartment building, when a loud, obnoxious bark comes from his left side, making Dean stop dead in his tracks.

Shit. Fuck. A dog.

Instantly, Dean’s hand goes to the small scar on the side of his temple, a moon shaped bite mark, already stretched and disfigured from years of growth. The dog appears to be a very ferocious small breed, with a scrunched up nose and bug eyes. Dean slowly moves backwards, holding his hands out. His breath comes in short, chest swells up with anxiety. With sweaty palms, Dean extends them in a _please don’t attack me_ manner, but what do dogs understand? The tiny menace drags its leash behind it, without the owner attached to the other end.

Dean’s mind races a million miles per hour, and even if the dog doesn’t move yet, the possibility of Dean passing out from the sheer fear coursing inside of his veins is over a 100%. He’s always avoided dogs ever since the bite, walking around them in huge circles, then crossing the street whenever he saw one. No living dog has ever made Dean feel safe. Not even a fragile creature like the one in front of him.

The dog barks again, and Dean practically screams inside of his own head.

“Meatloaf!”

A gravel-like voice comes to the rescue, and the dog scatters. The man comes running, a little of out breath, and when he sees Dean panic, the guy grabs the dog off the ground, making the creature stop barking. Dean steps back, still holding his hands out.

“Are you okay? Her owner is an old lady, she can’t run fast,” the man explains. Dean’s knees almost buckle under the weight of his gaze, and the fact that he’s still dead afraid of the fucking dog isn’t helping.

“Please-,” Dean manages out. “Please get the dog away from me. I think I’m gonna pass out.”

“Oh! Oh, sorry. Sit down on that bench, okay, wait for me,” the man says. Dean somehow finds the back of the bench with his searching hand, then plops down with his head in his hands.

Dean breathes deeply, making himself calm down with one of the calm-yourself-down techniques Sam taught him a few years back. Dean’s had a problem with dogs for a while now. Sam’s been adamant about him seeing a therapist, but Dean being Dean he never went. The man returns, with no dog in sight. Dean’s head swims a little less, so he can observe that the man is almost the same age as him, and has amazing bed hair.

“I’m okay,” Dean says instantly, before the man can open his mouth. “I just. I have a thing about dogs.”

The guy, surprisingly, doesn’t laugh. “Do you need water, or something? I could bring you some from my apartment -”

“No! No, I’ll be okay, give me a minute. I wasn’t prepared to get panicky about a small dog, ‘s all.”

"Take your time. It's alright."

Once Dean’s calm as a fish in water, he extends a hand out, with his charm plastered all over his face. “I’m Dean.”

The man shakes the hand. He’s got nice skin, and lean, beautiful fingers. “I’m Castiel.”

“Holy shit, that’s a mouthful. Mind if I call you Cas?”

“I guess?” Cas says, smiling a little. Dean finds it a little cute, maybe. “I’m sorry, have we met before? I feel like I’ve seen you somewhere.”

Dean shrugs. “Don’t think so,” he says. “Just moved in.”

“This apartment building?” Cas asks, with his eyebrows up.

“Yeah,” Dean says. “You live around here?”

“I live here, too,” Cas answers. “I’m afraid this hasn’t been a very welcoming environment yet. Sorry about the dog.”

“Don’t worry, dude, I’m gonna be okay,” Dean says. “Who names their dog _Meatloaf_?”

Castiel laughs, then. He’s really, really fucking adorable. “Why wouldn’t you? It’s an appropriate name for a Satan dog.”

“She’s that bad?”

“Sometimes,” Castiel admits. “Her owner is just as bad.”

They stare at each other for a few prolonged seconds. Dean realizes the guy has incredible blue eyes, and a five o’clock shadow on his face that frames his luscious lips. Dean finds himself fidgeting with the lapel of his shirt.

“I’m wondering. Uh. Since I’m new here, wanna go grab lunch with me? I was thinking of going to this diner across the park -”

“Sure!” Castiel answers a tad too quick. Dean smirks at his enthusiasm, and Castiel laughs nervously. “I mean. Yes. I’d very much like that.”

“Unless you want to go somewhere else?”

“No, I know someone there. They make amazing burgers.”

So they go.

It doesn’t take long for Dean to get back to his charming self. As they’re walking through the park, Dean’s mindful of every other dog in proximity, as is Cas. It’s refreshing, talking to a person who isn’t mocking Dean because of his fear.

They go inside of the diner, eat some awesome burgers, and stay for milkshakes. It’s incredibly comforting talking to Cas. Dean finds out Castiel’s a short story writer, and works for a magazine when he’s not at home writing. When Castiel asks Dean about his occupation, Dean gets flustered.

“I’m a tattoo apprentice. Not a big deal.”

“You do tattoos?”

“Yeah.”

“Do you have any?”

“What, tattoos?”

“Yes.”

“I have some. Full sleeves on my arms. I’m very picky about tattoos, can’t just tattoo anything on myself before going over the idea for a few years.”

“I have a slice of pizza tattooed on my left ankle.”

“You _what_?”

Castiel’s beaming smile is vibrant. Dean’s so entirely focused on the way Castiel’s eyes crinkle, he doesn’t notice how their knees bump together. “A drunk night with my brother. Can’t say I regret it, though.”

“I’d like to see it,” Dean blurts out.

Castiel levels him with a look, but the smile still remains. “On the first date? Here I thought you were a gentleman.”

It’s Dean’s turn to let out a nervous laugh. He finishes his milkshake, swirling the straw in the glass idly. “Not bad for a first date.”

“Not bad at all,” Castiel grins, bumping his milkshake glass with Dean’s.

And Dean does get to see Castiel’s ankle tattoo, when Cas starts frequenting Dean’s tattoo parlor. He sees another dumb tattoo on Castiel’s chest when they decide to treat themselves to a spa day after Castiel suggests they've been dating long enough for some quality goddamn spa time. Some nights, Dean tells Castiel secrets he hasn’t told anyone; like how he got bit when he was little, and instead of telling his parents the truth, he lied that he fell down on a rock, just to avoid getting the dog put down. He tells the story of how Silence was the first and last dog he really loved, and after her, he couldn’t let any other dog near him. She bit him after he’d gotten close to her food by accident.

Castiel also tells him about his family, his love for literature. About Gabriel, his brother who has been gone for years, and about the pizza tattoo he will never regret, because Gabriel chose it for him.

So Dean falls in love with him. Easily, like falling asleep. Realizes it one morning with Castiel draped all over him in his bed, lightly snoozing after a night of hushed conversation and kissing.

Castiel saves him not only from small ferocious dogs, but from everything else, and Dean almost thanks Meatloaf for bringing them together.

 

 


End file.
